The senior police officer believed to have led the police team that was detailed at the Accra Sports Stadium on the fateful day of May 9th, 2001 has refuted reports linking him to last fortnight's ghastly incident.

Chief Superintendent of Police, Nana Koranteng Mintah, who has been interdicted over his alleged role in the tear gas incident that resulted in 126 deaths, told the Presidential Commission investigating the incident yesterday that he was not part of the official list of police personnel selected for the ill-fated operation. He, however, admitted that he went to the stadium to witness the match but not to perform any officially assigned duty.

Mintah, until his interdiction was the Commanding Officer of the Armoured Car Squadron (ACS) explained that those who were to perform official duty were duly selected through a signal sent by the Greater Accra Regional Commander of Police, Dr. Kofi Marfo.

"I went to the stadium to watch the match." "The Regional Commander determines who to command the stadium operation by sending a signal. The signal came from Accra." Mintah was the fourth and final witness to appear before the Commission.

He had earlier been preceded by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations Mr. Yaw Adu Gyimah, Mr. Ernest Quarshie, Member of the management board of Accra Hearts of Oak in charge of Security and Ticketing and Baba Balinga, a labourer of the National Sports Council (NSC). Asked if he received a letter from the National Sports Council requesting for personnel from his outfit he said he received a letter from the Central Co-ordinating Committee (CCC) on Tuesday, 8th May requesting for two water cannon vehicles.

According to him he minuted instructions on the letter to the station officer specifically to put the personnel in preparedness for the operation while he sought clearance from the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations Yaw Adu Gyimah. Mintah said when he got to the office of the D-COP the next day to seek clearance he was informed he was not in so he contacted his 2ic, who subsequently cleared him to release the vehicles and the men for the operation.

The two water cannon vehicles are numbered GP 950 and GP949 respectively. While the former carried 49 rubber bullets, 44 tear gas cannisters and 3 stoppers, the latter carried 45 rubber bullets, 45 tear gas cannisters and 3 stoppers respectively, he revealed.

Asked whether the police personnel on duty wrote reports about the day's operation, he replied in the affirmative but added that he did not have access to any report in which the number of tear gas that were fired into the stands were recorded. Quoting from a police extract, he mentioned seven tear gas cannisters that were fired by the police manning the ceremonial gate located at the Osu end of the stadium.

This he explained was fired to expel a crowd that was throwing missiles at the police and had broken the ceremonial gate to gain entry to the stadium. Mr. Yaw Adu Gyimah had earlier called for the police and not the CCC to be given overall control over the release and deployment of police personnel for matches played at all national stadia especially the Accra sports stadium.

On his part, Mr. Ernest Quarshie who was asked questions that bordered on the level of security arranged for the match disclosed that the CCC requested for 68 police personnel for the mactch. Giving a breakdown on how their deployment he said 12 were sent to the arena while another ten were positioned among the spectators.

The rest he added were deployed all around the stadium.